Bonus page: No assignments associated with this topic at the moment.
There are a WIDE number of ultra handy tools available on the internet to help you do what you need. Below are a few that you might use in this course.
PDF Generators
Mac -- It's built right into the operating system.
Look for the Save As pdf option.
Or, more generally speaking, you will find it under -- Print, PDF, be sure to change your file extension to pdf.
Windows -- It's not built into the operating system but it may be installed on your machine.
Campus labs -- it's been added, look for the icon
Other options: pdftoword.com -- online converter. I tried this with a large file and it was too big to convert. Perhaps it works with smaller files. primopdf.com -- This is the one my husband has installed on his Windows machine. CutePDF Writer -- is a free utility that installs onto your computer like a printer. You create your original file and then “print” it. Instead of selecting your printer, you select “CutePDF.” Free My PDF -- is a very useful site for those of us that deal with PDF files a lot. Many PDF files that are unlocked (you can open and read them) sometimes have restrictions on printing or copying text from the file. Free My PDF can remove those restrictions. http://www.crackmypdf.com/ -- I saw this when I was searching for Free My PDF.
How to edit PDF forms without Adobe Acrobat -- PDFescape- Free, online PDF Editor & PDF Form Filler File Converters
Free online file converter -- Convert media files online from one format into another. http://www.online-convert.com/
Top 10 Sites for File Conversion by David Kapuler
While most new computers can convert some file types (especially on a Mac), there are still many that need help. This is especially the case when going cross platform from a Mac to PC.
Comet Docs - Easily one of the best visual sites for converting files and very user-friendly.Has over 50 conversion options with the ability to do file analysis and comparison.
Zamzar - One of the most popular and easy to use conversion sites around.
DocsPal - A nice site for converting tons of different files; results are downloaded via unique URL.
Vixy - A great way to convert and download videos onto a computer or mobile device.
YouConvertIt - Easy to use site for converting multiple files.
Type in "Snippping" into the search box on your Windows machine, Snipping Tool should show as an option (it's a free program that comes with Windows). Open that program, highlight area you want to copy, a window with your selected region opens, Control V (or paste) to paste the clip into your document.
On our Macs in the lab, press F14, highlight area you want to copy, select how you want to save it.
Print Screen -- to copy entire desktop, then paste into your document
Alt Print Screen -- copies the window of the program which is active/selected, then paste into your document
GetGreenShot.org -- allows you to copy just a portion of the screen like we do on the mac
More on Windows and screen clips:
Windows does not have quite as many features for "screen capture" as the Macintosh does. There are a few that are built into Windows. These are described as follows and I will discuss each in more depth a little further on down:
- Copy the entire screen to the "Clipboard"
- Copy the "active window" to the Clipboard. An active window, for example, is when you have a program not at fullscreen (i.e. you can see an active program and other things behind it.)
For both of these, you need to locate the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. It is usually located in the upper righthand part of the keyboard and it may be abreviated as "Prt Scr" or "Prnt Scrn" or something like that. Sometimes on a laptop, the Print Screen button might be labeled in Blue print which means you may need to hold down the Function (or FN) key to use the Print Screen button.
1) To Copy the Entire Screen to the Clipboard.
- Press the Print Screen button once. This puts the contents of the entire screen onto the clipboard. We will discuss later what to do with it once it is on the clipboard.
2) To Copy the Active Window to the Clipboard.
- Hold down the Alt key and then press the Print Screen button once. This puts the contents of the active window only onto the clipboard.
What to do when you have the screenshot on the clipboard?
1) You can paste the image directly into another program such as MS-Word or something. However, you cannot paste it onto your Wiki. You need to save it to a file to get it into the Wiki.
2) To get the screenshot to a file (so you can, for example, put it in your wiki):
- Open the Programs button, go to Accessories, locate and click the Paint program.
- once the Paint program is open, then press Control-V. This pastes the contents of the clipboard into the Paint program.
- You can now edit the image however you like and save it as a file.
Important: If you remember our first lesson of the semester, we used the Internet based image editor called PIXLR.COM. This can also be used to paste the contents of the clipboard and edit the image.
The previous part of this email discussed the features that are built into Windows. The screen capture is a bit problematic because it justs gets the images to the clipboard and then you have to do something else with it. There is a new feature built into Windows call the Snipping Tool (please don't chuckle... you are out of middle school). With the snipping tool, you can capture just a selected portion of the screen and it can save it to a file.
Bonus page: No assignments associated with this topic at the moment.
There are a WIDE number of ultra handy tools available on the internet to help you do what you need. Below are a few that you might use in this course.
PDF Generators
Mac -- It's built right into the operating system.
Look for the Save As pdf option.
Or, more generally speaking, you will find it under -- Print, PDF, be sure to change your file extension to pdf.
Windows -- It's not built into the operating system but it may be installed on your machine.
Campus labs -- it's been added, look for the icon
Other options:
pdftoword.com -- online converter. I tried this with a large file and it was too big to convert. Perhaps it works with smaller files.
primopdf.com -- This is the one my husband has installed on his Windows machine.
CutePDF Writer -- is a free utility that installs onto your computer like a printer. You create your original file and then “print” it. Instead of selecting your printer, you select “CutePDF.”
Free My PDF -- is a very useful site for those of us that deal with PDF files a lot. Many PDF files that are unlocked (you can open and read them) sometimes have restrictions on printing or copying text from the file. Free My PDF can remove those restrictions.
http://www.crackmypdf.com/ -- I saw this when I was searching for Free My PDF.
How to edit PDF forms without Adobe Acrobat -- PDFescape- Free, online PDF Editor & PDF Form Filler
File Converters
Free online file converter -- Convert media files online from one format into another.
http://www.online-convert.com/
Top 10 Sites for File Conversion by David Kapuler
While most new computers can convert some file types (especially on a Mac), there are still many that need help. This is especially the case when going cross platform from a Mac to PC.
Screenshots
Article telling how screenshots can be a powerful support for students -- The Simple Power of a Screenshot
Mac -- It's built right into the operating system.
For other mac screen capture options check out this article.
Windows --
More on Windows and screen clips:
Windows does not have quite as many features for "screen capture" as the Macintosh does. There are a few that are built into Windows. These are described as follows and I will discuss each in more depth a little further on down:
- Copy the entire screen to the "Clipboard"
- Copy the "active window" to the Clipboard. An active window, for example, is when you have a program not at fullscreen (i.e. you can see an active program and other things behind it.)
For both of these, you need to locate the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. It is usually located in the upper righthand part of the keyboard and it may be abreviated as "Prt Scr" or "Prnt Scrn" or something like that. Sometimes on a laptop, the Print Screen button might be labeled in Blue print which means you may need to hold down the Function (or FN) key to use the Print Screen button.
1) To Copy the Entire Screen to the Clipboard.
- Press the Print Screen button once. This puts the contents of the entire screen onto the clipboard. We will discuss later what to do with it once it is on the clipboard.
2) To Copy the Active Window to the Clipboard.
- Hold down the Alt key and then press the Print Screen button once. This puts the contents of the active window only onto the clipboard.
What to do when you have the screenshot on the clipboard?
1) You can paste the image directly into another program such as MS-Word or something. However, you cannot paste it onto your Wiki. You need to save it to a file to get it into the Wiki.
2) To get the screenshot to a file (so you can, for example, put it in your wiki):
- Open the Programs button, go to Accessories, locate and click the Paint program.
- once the Paint program is open, then press Control-V. This pastes the contents of the clipboard into the Paint program.
- You can now edit the image however you like and save it as a file.
Important: If you remember our first lesson of the semester, we used the Internet based image editor called PIXLR.COM. This can also be used to paste the contents of the clipboard and edit the image.
The previous part of this email discussed the features that are built into Windows. The screen capture is a bit problematic because it justs gets the images to the clipboard and then you have to do something else with it. There is a new feature built into Windows call the Snipping Tool (please don't chuckle... you are out of middle school). With the snipping tool, you can capture just a selected portion of the screen and it can save it to a file.
This link discusses the copying to the clipboard and using the Snipping Tool.
Bonus Materials
Laptop Refresh: Six Ways to Revitalize an Older Notebook -- Is your machine running too slowly? Did someone give you their old, slow machine? You might be able to revive it a bit.
The Ultimate Web2.0 Smackdown at Tech Forum, Boston
Homework:Jazz it up with Technology by Ozge Karaoglu
Top 10 Self Help Sites for Technology by David Kapuler
Finding lost webpages -- Way Back Machine
Information Literacy -- Videos by Polk Library
Information Cycle: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/information-cycle(http://youtu.be/wNdHbLwXEcE)
Understanding your Assignment: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/understanding-your-assignment
(http://youtu.be/45UO3mx8b9k)
Searching for Information: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/searching-for-information
Part I: http://youtu.be/BtdJxlPJy38
Part II: http://youtu.be/Mb0swsTAuRY
Part III: http://youtu.be/dW4e9aqSpP8
Locating Information: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/locating-information
Part I: http://youtu.be/SKTUIUMoCYE
Part II: http://youtu.be/FgnwZjZlQhI
Evaluating Information: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/evaluating-information
(http://youtu.be/6YVs7YpN9co)
Citing Sources/Using Information: http://www.uwosh.edu/library/anvil/modules/citing-sources-and-using-information
Part I: http://youtu.be/HeB6pyjRP3E
Part II: http://youtu.be/Brp5GKInpSw